Yakov Azriel was born in New York,
in 1950, as Gerald Rosenkrantz.
After receiving his B.A. in English
literature, summa cum laude, at
Brooklyn College, in 1971, he moved
to Israel, where he changed his name
to Yakov Azriel. He studied at the
Mercaz HaRav Kook Yeshiva, in
Jerusalem, and the Har-Etzion
Yeshiva, in Alon-Shvut, Israel, and
later completed an M.A., with
distinction, and a doctorate in
Judaica, concentrating on the
stories of Rabbi Nachman of Braslav.
His first book of
poems, Threads from a Coat of
Many Colors: Poems on Genesis,
was published by Time Being Books,
in 2005. This book was a candidate
for several awards, including the
National Jewish Book Award, in the
U.S., and the President's Prize for
Literature (awarded by the President
of Israel), which is one of Israel's
most prestigious literary awards.
His second book of poetry, In the
Shadow of a Burning Bush: Poems on
Exodus, was published in 2008,
and his third, Beads for the
Messiah's Bride: Poems on Leviticus,
in 2009 — both by Time Being Books.
Over 120 of his
poems on Biblical and Jewish themes
have been published in journals in
the U.S., the U.K., and Israel since
he began submitting poems, in 2000.
His poems have won twelve prizes in
international competitions,
including First Place in the 2004
Miriam Lindberg Poetry for Peace
Prize, Honorable Mention in the 2004
Annual Poetry Contest sponsored by
Poetica magazine, Fourth
Place in the 2004 Fifteenth Reuben
Rose International Poetry
Competition, Semifinalist in the
2005 Pablo Neruda Prize in Poetry
Competition sponsored by Nimrod
magazine, Finalist in the 2006
International Poetry Competition
sponsored by Binnacle
magazine, Honorable Mention in the
2006 poetry contest sponsored by
Inspirit magazine, and Second
Place in the 2006 Dancing Galliard
Sonnet Contest. In addition, Azriel
was awarded a fellowship from the
Memorial Foundation for Jewish
Culture, in 2004–2005, for his
poetry.
